CASE STUDY Stainless Steel and Copper Machining: Increased Tool Life by 50% at Milling Operation and 100% at Turning Operation FLEXICOOL™ TECHNOLOGY - QUAKERCOOL® 7360 BFF The Challenge A machining workshop specializes in bar turning and precision machining of small to medium productions of parts on various materials including steel, titanium, aluminum, yellow metals, and plastics. The competitive product, an amine and boron-free coolant, was running at a concentration of 8% to 10% with a 2% top-up. The customer wanted to accomplish the following:
• Increased tool life • Improved surface finish
The Solution Based on regular visits and technical support together with a local distributor, Quaker Houghton was able to analyze challenges the customer faced and presented QUAKERCOOL® 7360 BFF. QUAKERCOOL® 7360 BFF at 8% concentration was introduced into two CNC machines, one machining stainless steel, and the other machining pure copper. Tool life, surface finish, and top-ups (kept at 2%) were closely monitored over a three month period. During the trial period, no operating issues were noticed and the pH stayed very stable at 9.20-9.30.
Figure 1: Shiny Stainless Steel Chips using QUAKERCOOL® 7360 BFF vs Blue Stainless Steel Chips using the competitive product
The Benefits At the completion of the trial the customer achieved the following results: On Stainless Steel (Figure 1)
• 100% increased tool life in milling operation • 50% increased tool life in turning operation • Good surface finish with Ra in spec lubrication with shiny instead of blue tinted • Better chips
On Copper (Figure 2)
• Improved outer surface finish and thread finish • No staining tool life (for 200 parts: 2 inserts, 1 drill, • Equivalent 1 tap)
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Figure 2: Copper machined with QUAKERCOOL® 7360 BFF
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